


Hashirama and The Ghost Tree

by RoeDusk



Series: Naruto's Little Ball of Fluff 'Verse [1]
Category: Naruto, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Origin of Mokuton, Alternate Universe - Pokemon Inspired, Family Feels, Gen, Warring Clans Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9277808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoeDusk/pseuds/RoeDusk
Summary: All clans had there secrets, and the Senju were no different.  But there were secrets they kept and secrets they just happened to live near.  The Northern Forest was one of the latter.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Phantump:  
> According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.
> 
> Trevenant:  
> This Pokémon is said to devour anyone daring to ravage the forest. To the creatures dwelling in the forest, it offers great kindness. + Through its roots, it exerts control over other trees. A deadly curse falls upon anyone cutting down trees in forests where Trevenant dwell.
> 
> Lampent:  
> While shining a light and pretending to be a guide, it leeches off the life force of any who follow it.

 

For as long as Tobirama remembered the Senju had been forbidden from cutting even firewood from the Northern Forest. They were a wandering clan, but large enough to need a few permanent settlements, and the Northern Forest bordered one such camp. As children they were told to stay away, that it was home to a powerful spirit who would attack anyone who hurt the trees. As adults they learned it was the Forest that allowed them to have a camp there at all. The Uchiha had angered the Forest’s ghost many years ago, and could not attack their camp for fear of it arriving to drive them off. But for the years he and his brothers grew up there, sneaking away from their elders against regulations and playing in the woods, none of them had ever seen the Ghost Tree before.

But they said there was only one tree in the forest with leaves the color of blood, and that finding such a leaf in camp meant a Senju had died. Waking from a dream where Kawarama had been trying to get him up to stop Hashirama before he did something stupid again and finding his brother’s room empty, but littered with crimson leaves, Tobirama panicked. Throwing on his armor he dashed off a letter to Touka in case he didn’t return and headed for the deep woods in the pale light of pre-dawn.

 

* * *

 

Waking amid tree roots wasn’t exactly a new experience, but Hashirama only barely remembered returning home with the soul deep ache of knowing Madara would never forgive him now. He was weary to the bone, wondering if there was even a dream worth seeking anymore as sleep eluded him. Then.. he must have dozed off because he’d thought he saw Itama standing at the edge of the forest waiting for him to sneak out again like when they were children. Had he sleepwalked here…? He certainly hadn’t thought to put on his armor.

Something moved in the underbrush behind him and he turned to look, only to freeze as bone white bark and blood red leaves came into view. The Ghost Tree hesitated at the edge of the clearing, considering him for a long moment with one glowing eye. Hashirama scrambled to stand, offering a respectful bow to the spirit before he took a half step back, caught his ankle on a root, and ended up crashing too the forest floor.

The Senju Clan Head hissed and rubbed at the shock of pain where he’d smacked his elbow, before opening his eyes and startling to find the Ghost Tree leaning over him now. How was it possible for a towering creature to move so silently?

_That looked like it hurt_ , a raspy voice mused in the seconds that followed. Hashirama blinked, trying to place it. But it seemed to be coming from inside his own head. A foreign thought? Was that possible?

_He’s always been like that_ , a familiar voice huffed and Hashirama shot immediately to a sitting position, looking around desperately for Kawarama. There was a flurry of movement as two small… shadows wearing tree stumps on their heads? peeked out from the bushes by the Ghost Tree’s roots.

_Did he… hear that?_ Itama asked, one of the stumps floating slightly closer. And… it was a dark brown with half of the wood bleached white. Hashirama stared at it in shock.

“Itama? What… you’re possessing a tree?”

Kawarama snorted at that, the other stump rolling it’s eyes, and now that he was looking for it, Hashirama could see the cross shaped scar on the pale brown of the stump that one wore.

“Kawarama?” He asked hesitantly, glancing from one stump to the other and trying to make some sense out of it. Tobirama would have an idea. But… that idea was probably a theoretical jutsu he’s try to recreate so maybe it was better he wasn’t here after all.

_It’s really us, brother,_ Itama insisted, floating closer and hesitating just outside of arm’s reach. His form flickered for a moment, showing the boy he’d been, trying to hide an anxious look, and Hashirama lunged forward to grab the strange ghostly form in a hug. Itama relaxed into his hold almost instantly, and Kawarama made an abortive move towards them before catching himself.

“Get over here before I have to get up and grab you,” Hashirama told him, trying for a smile but falling short. Kawarama rolled his eyes, but came over anyway, allowing his elder brother to pull him into the hug without even complaining. Hashirama could feel their familiar chakra signatures, beating softly within these strange new forms, but couldn’t figure out how or why.

_You worried your brothers,_ the raspy voice informed him gently, and Hashirama’s eyes widened as he realized that was the Ghost Tree talking. _Itama enough to bring you out here_.

“You’re talking in my mind!” Hashirama blurted out in amazement, ignoring Kawarama’s dramatic sigh. “How do you do that? Can you read my mind as well?”

_I cannot_ , the Tree replied with a tilt of its head, _You are simply attuned to the spirits of the dead, as some shinobi are. You wish you could hear them, see them one more time, even those you killed. It allows me and mine to speak to that questioning soul._

“Right,” Hashirama replied, with more conviction than he felt - earning an amused hum from the tree. “But… how is this possible? I saw their bodies. They died. How can they possibly be here?”

_The trees speak to me of the forest,_ the Ghost replied with a gesture to the ancient trunks, _And beyond that the grass speaks to the trees. They tell of war, fighting, and death, children killed too young. I am a guardian, my duty is to the forest and all who reside within, but it is also to guide the souls of the dead. Some cling stubbornly to life, shinobi most of all, and them I seek to heal before helping them find where they belong._

“By… turning them into baby Ghost Trees?”

Kawarama hissed at him, something about Tobirama not being there to save him when he put his foot in it, but the Tree just laughed.

_They are phantoms, children who deserve to live a little more of life. So I make them cradles to possess, that they may linger on a while. Perhaps in many years they will become guardians as I am, but my hope is always that they find the urge to move on. Perhaps when you pass - many years from now, I hope - they will finally be calm enough to follow you into death and meet again._

“You said that again, ‘Guardian’, like it’s a title. Could anyone become one?”

_Hashirama…_ Itama began in warning, but was cut off as the Ghost Tree rumbled thoughtfully.

_I am a living guardian, unable to release my charge to pass on, and bound to the power of this tree even as it is bound to me. That is what I spoke of when I mentioned your brothers, they could last so long they became their anchors, and their anchors them, unable to move on but always present to act. But a guardian is just one who protects. You worry for your dream in asking, yes?_

“I… yes,” Hashirama agreed softly. “I’m afraid I no longer have the power to stop this war. With Madara at my side we might have pushed for peace, but he refuses to ally, now more than ever. And to face down the Uchiha as well as the rest of the clans… I am not that strong.”

_So you would share my power?_ The Ghost Tree inferred, leaning in close to consider the human at his feet. Then, to the two child souls’ surprise, it nodded. _Yes, perhaps you can._ It held a hand up before Hashirama could get too excited. _But know this, to be a guardian you can never give up again. There will always be another who needs saving, or an old friend you must strive to show a better path. You can never give up because you are not strong enough again, or you will not be able to learn to share my power now. It is the growth that will always come back, given enough time, even after the ravages of war._

Hashirama blinked at that, the words sparking something in his mind, the click of a piece that had been shaken out of alignment after long years of struggle. “I don’t want another child to die for this war,” he told the Ghost Tree, pulling his brothers subconsciously closer. “Senju or Uchiha it shouldn’t matter, I don’t want anyone else to lose a brother.”

_Then let us see what you can learn,_ The Ghost Tree replied, leaning carefully down until it could look Hashirama in the eye with it’s own.

For a moment nothing happened, then Hashirama felt the world fall away, even as he struggled to hold on, swept up in the voices in the roots around him, and the moss, and the falling leaves in the breeze. His eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

_Hmm, better than I expected. He will take to it well,_ the Tree mused as a startled Kawarama hissed at them for whatever they’d done. Itama let the shock of Hashirama’s collapse wear off as he lowered his brother to the ground, leaving Kawarama to tell off the Tree the way he had wanted to at first.

_Tell Tobirama I don’t blame him?_ He asked quietly, smiling at the confused wrinkle that caused on Hashirama’s forehead. _He thinks I blame him for not avenging me, but I don’t anymore. Madara’s brothers, we met them here, and they weren’t all bad. So I’m not sorry that he didn’t find out who killed me and murder them._ His brother didn’t respond, still unconscious, and the two-tone phantom shrugged, _If you remember, of course._

_Tobirama is probably out looking for him right now,_ Kawarama pointed out mildly, letting Itama know he’d wound down. The Ghost Tree nodded.

_The Trees can hear him, staggering around the deep places in search of a body or enemies that aren’t there. It would be better to go to him than wait for him to find us, however. He is not heading this way._

Itama nodded, helping his brother lift Hashirama up for the tree to hold, cradled in two pale hands. _He’ll be alright, right? I mean, you didn’t do anything that would hurt him, right?_

_It may be startling for a while, until he gets it under control, but no, your brother will not hurt anyone, even himself,_ the Tree reassured them. _Now, would you like to see the other one?_

 

* * *

 

“Explain yourself, Uchiha,” Tobirama snarled, dragging himself over another road block after the spirit in front of him. “You claim not to be an illusion, but are clearly leading me on a wild goose chase. All the while your kinsmen are probably torturing my brother to death for Madara’s sick amusement.”

_I didn’t ask you to follow me you know,_ the younger man laughed, glancing over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. _Not that I’ve really tried to talk you out of it either. It’s kind of fun to see this annoyed side to you. You wouldn’t be showing it on the battlefield, that’s for sure._

“Why not torment me with Itama, if you’re trying to get a rise from me?” Tobirama snarled. “At least he and I have fought. I had nothing to do with your death.”

_I’m not tormenting you, you’re stalking me,_ the dark haired teen sighed. _Listen I don’t need you to trust me. Honestly, it’s probably better if you don’t, but if you’re just going to follow me around the forest demanding answers we’re going to get nowhere._

“Does that mean you’re going to tell me why you’re here?”

_I’m here because I’m dead,_ The Uchiha told him bluntly. _The guardian of the forest takes in the souls of children who die nearby and gives them a chance to grow up a little, live more before we have to move on._

Tobirama sucked in a breath, his mind whirling with possibilities even as he brushed them aside with a frown. “That’s impossible, the dead don’t talk to the living.”

_At least not until someone comes up with a working resurrection jutsu_ , the Uchiha suggested, raising an eyebrow at Tobirama, who snarled in response.

“Who _are_ you? How do you know about that?”

_Not a lot to do when you’re dead,_ the teenager shrugged, _so I sneak into your camp to see what everyone’s up to now and then. As for who I am, Seiryu Uchiha. Madara’s my baby brother._

Tobirama’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been dead since I was 4 years old.”

_Since you were 3,_ Seiryu disagreed cheerfully, _I died a couple weeks before your birthday._ _Early birthday present._

“If you claim the guardian of this forest is keeping you alive then where are my brothers?” Tobirama asked lowly. “They died just beyond the forest, they should be here too.”

_I’m not alive, not like you’re thinking, but your brothers_ _ **are**_ _here. They’re with your missing elder brother, at the Ghost Tree._ Tobirama froze at that, and Seiryu hurried to continue. _Not like_ _ **that**_ _, he’s fine. They’re as dead as I am but Hashirama is alive and well._

“Then tell me where he is,” Tobirama snapped back angrily. “You may appreciate tormenting me with the loss of another brother, but I’m not going to put up with it.”

The dark haired teen gave him a tired look. _I’m not trying to torment you, you forget I’ve watched my brothers die as well._ Tobirama grit his teeth at the accusation and Seiryu sighed. _I don’t blame you for killing Itama._ There was an angry exclamation in the bushes behind them and he smiled slightly. _The other two do, and Madara certainly does, but I would have killed him to save my family if he were on the other side, so I don’t blame you. Come, I’ll lead you to your brother._

Tobirama hesitated as the teen - teen who should be more than a decade older than him - started off into the woods, glancing back towards the angry cry from earlier. But he had seen no one other than Madara’s eldest brother since entering the forest. And he hadn’t been able to shake a genjutsu or get his sensor abilities to focus past the shifting feel of the forest. Wherever the other was leading him seemed to be the best bet to find Hashirama, so he followed cautiously.

Seiryu didn’t look back, setting the same deliberate pace he had before - when he was trying to leave Tobirama behind - and expecting the Senju to keep up. Tobirama grumbled under his breath about passive-aggressive Uchiha as he pulled himself over another low hanging branch, but didn’t complain more vocally. No need to give the smug bastard any more entertainment.

A few minutes later his guide slowed to a stop, turning back to check that Tobirama was still following him and offering him a small smile when he was. _There,_ he pointed ahead of them, _Your brothers are coming this way. They’re not exactly fans, so this is where I leave you._ He was fading as he spoke, human form disappearing before Tobirama’s eyes, leaving only a tiny white candle and glowing blue-purple flame behind. It smile at his startled look. _Oh, and next time be more careful who you follow around the woods, Senju? If I’d been either of my brothers you’d be completely out of chakra by now._

With that last cryptic remark the candle turned and floated away. Tobirama just blinked after it in confusion, trying not to focus on the achingly familiar chakra signatures coming closer. But he was the best sensor the Senju had found in years, and they were too close to ignore.

Itama and Kawarama paused at the edge of the clearing at the sight of him, glancing at each other then back to the bone-white tree that was following them at a sedate pace. Tobirama felt his throat go dry as he took in the towering plant with its blood red leaves. The Ghost Tree, and for the first time he could see why his coloring had startled the clan elders so badly. With his white hair, pale skin, and red eyes he might as well have been an aspect of the forest guardian, or at least an omen of some kind.

But more importantly Itama and Kawarama were staring at him, waiting for some sort of recognition. He tore his eyes away from the bone-tree and managed a crooked smile. Kawarama huffed and looked away to hide the sheen in his eyes, but Itama smiled back, reaching up to wipe a tear from his face.

The Ghost Tree stepped forward, it’s huge hands tilting down in front of Tobirama to reveal Hashirama’s unconscious form. _Look after him_ , a deep voice suggested as the tree handed over its burden, _He will need your wits to figure out how it all works._ Then it leaned back, turning to glance at the two dead Senju before looking back at Tobirama. _And look after yourself, your brothers were worried about you too._

_Be safe,_ Itama breathed, darting forward to hug Tobirama around their brother, when the other couldn’t pull away or risk dropping Hashirama. Kawarama wandered over at a slower pace, but still leaned in to hug him on the other side. Tobirama struggled between the impulse to make some gruff comment and push them away, and wanting to drop his idiot brother just to hug them back. But he didn’t do either, instead turning back the way he’d come and starting towards home. As they let him go, his brothers’ figures flickered, revealing woody dolls held together by shadow.

Tobirama wondered as he left them behind what the difference between animate dolls and animate candles were, was it always that way between the children of their clans? And what reasons would he give himself to stop from going back and seeking them out, now that he’d seen his brothers with his own eyes? Then Hashirama grimaced in pain and he decided it didn’t matter right now if his brothers were accessible, Hashirama would need him to overcome… whatever it was the Ghost Tree had done.

Leave the future for later, for now he would focus on getting Hashirama home before Touka sent out a search party to find them.

 

* * *

 

Touka was not pleased with his jaunt into the woods, no matter if it was looking for Hashirama or not. Tobirama resisted pointing out they’d done the same together as children and derailed her into getting a healer to check on Hashirama.

As far as they could tell there was nothing wrong with him, which would be less worrying if he wasn’t still unconscious. But the elder Senju brother was still reacting to outside stimulus, making it unlikely a genjutsu was holding him too tightly. The involvement of the Ghost Tree was another factor the healers took to mean their Clan Head was fine, just on a spiritual journey of some kind. Tobirama resisted the urge to roll his eyes until they were out of the room.

He’d settled in to make notes on what he’d seen, about spirits and the Northern Forest in general, when Hashirama woke with a gasp. Only to make a startled yelp and fall out of bed. Tobirama sighed and turned to check on him, freezing at the sight of the green shoots sticking out of the wooden bedframe. Hashirama was staring at his hands in shock, clearly the originator of this strange event.

Tobirama poked one of the unfurling leaves with a finger before raising an eyebrow at his elder brother. “Let me guess, this has something to do with your time as the guest of the Ghost Tree.”

“It said I could learn to share its power,” Hashirama breathed, reaching out towards the closest bedpost only to jerk his hand back as it erupted in greenery at his attention.

Tobirama’s lips thinned, struggling for a moment not to point out the sheer insanity this was. He gave up. “You asked the sentient tree, older than the entire clan’s age combined, to share its power with you? Because you being a tree yourself would have no difficulty using it?”

“I wasn’t expecting the grass to try and explain wind patterns is all!” Hashirama protested. Tobirama gave him an incredulous look and gestured to the bed.

“You expect me to blame the grass for this?”

“Ah, no, that was me,” Hashirama blushed. “It’s just, they wanted to meet, and I wanted to meet them, and then suddenly the bed was growing again.”

“The voices in your head told you to sprout leaves from the bedposts…”

“Not in my head. The Ghost Tree let me speak with them for a little bit. The plants. Grass and trees mostly, to try and understand a little of what it can.” Hashirama shook his head at Tobirama’s dubius expression. “There isn’t really a better way to describe it. But I can’t talk to them any more, just… whatever this is. Like a jutsu.”

“Or a bloodline limit,” Tobirama mused, considering the greenery. “You need to practice, and fast. War won’t wait for you to stop growing flowers from weapon hilts.”

Hashirama nodded and stood, “Whenever you’re available, Tobirama. If anyone can see the patterns it will be you.”

The younger senju rolled his eyes to hide the warmth in his chest, before turning towards the door. “Then get your armor on quickly, brother. You have until I reach the training yard to get ready.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> This happened because I realized Hashirama's Sage Mode face-lines? looks like it has Treevenant's Eye on it.
> 
> Part of the Naruto Pokemon universe I've been making an outline for, based more on pokemon as chakra capable creatures similar to summons rather than common animals. This is just the first story I managed to make in a stand alone state. Thoughts?
> 
> Note to self, finish drawing the pictures already...


End file.
